Working Stiff
by CheshireStone
Summary: The turtles and their adversaries have it easy. But what about the lackies?


_Author's Note: _

_I always get a bit disappointed that there is a severe lack of fanfics that depict the 'other side' of the fight. There are some pretty amazing depictions of the turtles in action, as well as their adversaries, but not much on the ones whose sole purpose in the comics, movies, or shows is to die during the fight. _

_This drabble came up when I was thinking of another way to introduce an OC, but has no bearing on that particular character. So think of this as one of the many 'red shirts' we come across in the TMNT-verse._

_Hope you enjoy it, since I certainly enjoyed writing it. It's not often I write something in this genre._

No one had ever asked her opinion on the matter. No one had stopped to talk it out. There was just a sudden burning pain centered right about her abdomen, quickly spreading throughout the body. The young woman sank to the floor, a half-hearted protest bubbling up from her lips. She had to explain the situation, something. Anything to fix this unpleasant sensation that coursed through her body. She tried again to make a sound, but to no avail. Her attacker didn't even bother giving her a second glance as he pulled the sai from her body, eager to return to the fray. She slumped forward, the camera around her neck cracking as it hit the pavement. Almost idly, a single thought crossed her mind.

_You have to be kidding me…I paid two hundred for this thing_.

Through blurring eyes, she watched the fight from her spot on the pavement. There were her supposed comrades, attempting to dish out a good pounding against the strange creatures. Only her boss was truly succeeding, moving swiftly as he battled with the one in blue. The young woman let out a shuddering breath as she watched the two, almost dreamily noting their graceful moves.

_This is stupid._

Another of the strange creatures, this time masked in purple, stumbled over her body as one of her comrades got a lucky hit. He hit his shell as he fell, but quickly scrambled up and gave the human a good swift smack with his staff. The human reeled before darting back to relative safety. Only then did the one in purple notice her. She tried to say something, anything, to indicate she needed help. She was just a working stiff. She didn't deserve this. Only blood bubbled past, filling her mouth with the warm and coppery taste. He looked in her with something akin to pity, reaching down to close her eyes with gentle fingers.

_You…goddamn it all, I'm not dead yet…!_

"Men, pull back!"

Her boss again. No one protested, and the thudding of boots marked their exit. She could almost laugh. There had been no protest of leaving the photographer. Human nature triumphs again. All hail saving one's own skin. There was a ragged whoop from one of the creatures. Probably the one that never shut up during the fight, she thought blearily.

"Yeah! We're green, we're mean, we're—!"

"Mike, shut up. Anyone left?"

"Just that girl, Leo."

She struggled to open her eyes, trying not to notice how hard it was. Her vision swam as she attempted to focus. The one in purple and blue were looking at her carefully. Blue nudged purple, muttering, "Will she make it?"

"I can't really say." Purple kneeled down and ignored her whimper as he rolled her over. "Raph did a good job on her…"

"Didn' mean ta." There was a grunt from the one in red, who stood beside the orange one. "Saw her rushin' at me, couldn' take any chances."

Purple shook his head with a sigh. "What's done is done, unfortunately…someone help me pick her up. The least we could do is take her to a hospital."

"Definitely more than what her buddies did." The orange one observed as he helped his fellow creature. She was pulled into thickly muscled arms, the now useless camera bumping against her chest. "This is the part I hate."

She didn't even bother keeping her eyes open at this point, lulled by the almost gentle way the creature handled her. Almost welcome, darkness flooded throughout her mind. Breathing was getting to be a chore, so slowly, ever so slowly, she just stopped. The creatures continued their movements, never noticing her passing.

The young woman opened her eyes again, noting how easy it was now. She stood on the edge of a building, watching the strange creatures jump and vault their way across the rooftops, one holding her mortal remains like a parent holding a favorite child. The artist in her let out a faint sigh as she angled the camera for the shot, in love with the way the moon lit up the night and the four figures. She wouldn't stop this moment for the world, and only stopped snapping photographs when a bony hand laid itself on her shoulder.

**MISS B. J. WOODS? IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO COME WITH ME.**

She looked to the skull of a hooded skeleton, blinded for a moment by the brilliant sapphire glow that emitted from its eye sockets, then nodding slightly. "Yeah. I guess it is, huh?"

**INDEED. YOUR AFTERLIFE AWAITS YOU.**

The young woman glanced down, seeing her extremities slowly fading away. Soon enough, the rest would follow, no doubt. She smiled slightly, fingering her camera with transparent fingers. "Any good views?"

**I WOULD NOT KNOW. HOWEVER, I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY MANY RELIGIOUS FIGURES THAT THERE ARE ENOUGH GOOD VIEWS TO LAST ETERNITY.**

"Good to hear. Need something to keep me occupied for eternity. Keep me trained as a working stiff, so to speak."

**OF COURSE.** The robed skeleton watched the young lady fade away to nothing but a faint ball of glowing light. It pulled the lit ball into the dark recesses of its robe, slowly fading away as well. The skeleton nodded, pleased with a job well done, replying to no one in particular, **THAT IS SOMETHING, I BELIEVE, WE SHARE IN COMMON.**


End file.
